Technical writing does not come easily - as the contents of the university library testify. There is no recipe for success, but here are some rules of thumb that you can follow:
1. Allow yourself time. No one will believe in advance how long analysis, write-up and checking take.
2.Set yourself deadlines, and hit them with zeal. (And beware the typist who lets you down at the last moment.)
3.Give shape to what you write. There are all sorts of usable models: the hypothetic-deductive theory (theory, prediction, verification); the ritualistic (introduction, review of literature, method, results, discussion); the auto-biographical narrative, and so on. Pick the one most appropriate for the discipline and for your own inclination.
4.Use sub-headings at the side and/or in the centre of the page to structure your text, and include lots of sentences that tell the reader where they have been and where they are going next.
5.Method: just say what you did in the words that a child would understand. Keep your discussion of methodology, the pros and cons of the various possible methods, to a minimum. Don't feel compelled to report in detail on everything you do.
6.Avoid clichés. "Situation", "at this moment in time", "in this regard", and anything else said frequently on television, should be avoided.
7.Decide which of your results are the important ones, and give them prominent place.
8.Don't allow technicalities to clog up the main text. Put them in appendices.
9.Expect to suffer over the presentation of statistics. Raw data belongs at the back, after the references. The right way of summarising data in the main text may only come to you after weeks of trial and error.
10.Tables should speak for themselves. Don't force your reader to grope around in the main text to discover what your tables mean.
11.Don't pad out your references with works your haven't read.
12.Hack and hack at your own prose. Sentence by sentence, the simplest form is usually the best. At the level of paragraphs and chapters, aim for the sequence that gives you the smoothest flow.
13.Re-examine any piece of jargon. As often as not you will find that it disguises sloppiness. Bear in mind, too, that the educational sciences are interdisciplinary. What your write should make sense to any intelligent person, irrespective of his or her technical skills.
14.Proofreading your typed version is essential. Ideally, work with a partner and read it aloud, punctuation and all.
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